1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of communications, and particularly to communication systems using spread spectrum techniques and to over-the-air protocols for mobile telephones.
2. Description of Related Art
A mobile telephone system may generally comprise a set of “user stations”, typically mobile and the endpoints of a communication path, and a set of “base stations”, typically stationary and the intermediaries by which a communication path may be established or maintained. In a mobile telephone system, one important concern is the ability of mobile stations to communicate with base stations in a simple, flexible and rapid manner. The communication protocol between user stations and base stations should be rapid, so that user stations are not required to wait to establish a communication path. The protocol should be simple, so that user stations need not incorporate expensive equipment to implement it. The protocol should be flexible, so that user stations may establish communication paths in as many communication environments as reasonably possible.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a simple and flexible over-air protocol for use with a mobile telephone system. One class of systems in which this would be particularly advantageous is that of personal communication systems, particularly those with hand-held telephones in a microcell or other type of cellular communication system.